Purchasing Definitions & Requirements

Purchases under $10K – Catalog, online & General orders

Use for any purchase in the Kuali Shop Catalogs section. This includes but not limited to Office Max, Central Stores, Various Vendors, and any online vendor or membership renewal.

Required Attachments: Quote and/or link to online product

Purchases $10K - $50K

Use for contracted and non-contracted vendors with university-wide annual spending between $10K and $50K. In a contracted order, the contract must appear on the quote. In a non-contracted order, three quotes are required, or if applicable you may use a sole source justification form. (Sole Source Definition – there is a unique service that only your listed vendor can provide; it’s proprietary to the vendor or there is a specific justifiable business reason for choosing one vendor over others)

Requirements: Quotes and/or Sole Source

Purchases over $50K

These purchases require a contract number, or they may be subject to the RFP process (see note below). All purchases over $50K require CIO approval. Purchases over $500K will also be subject to Board of Trustees approval (the meeting agenda is set one month in advance).

Requirements: Quote with Contract number listed, CIO Approval

NOTE: An RFP is a bid process whereby the University solicits competitive bids for items or services. This is a lengthy multi-month process. Purchasing turnaround time can be quite lengthy on orders of $50K due to contract review, AG’s approvals & BOT approval. If no contract already exists the order will go out to bid (9-12 month process minimum). Plan accordingly.

Changes for/on existing POs

Use if you need to add, change, or delete a line item to an existing PO, and it has not been paid in full. Once the PO has been paid, no further changes can be made.

Requirements: Need existing PO number, full list of changes, and the associated quote with effective date of change on quote. If discontinuing service (maintenance, license, etc), please indicate term date.

Outside Contractors

Use only when construction or infrastructure involves vendor labor services (Valley Communications, Northeastern, Fiber Optics, Network Installation). It cannot be used for consultants.

Required Attachments: A quote that lists the contract number with a breakdown of labor and materials. We prefer multiple vendor quotes that are listed on an associated contract (see UITS Contract link and State Contract link).

Consultants – IT

Before hiring a consultant, UITS must have a valid reason for hiring a consultant in lieu of hiring someone through the normal university search process (full or limited search or a SPAR search).

Requirements: Completed form, CIO Approval

Renewals

Used for maintenance, licenses, memberships, and software renewals for the upcoming FY. You can review any of your renewals and decide to renew or cancel the current PO at any time throughout the year.